MORALITY IN TEENS

Israel v. Palestine Conflict

One doesn’t have to say much but the two words -- Israel and Palestine in the same sentence and you will instantaneously be labeled either a Zionist or a Hammas terrorist. If we cannot even expect to have a conversation about this issue, how can we expect the people in Israel and Palestine to reach a middle ground?

I am not pro-Israel nor pro-Palestine, all I know is that I am pro-peace for ALL. But I do know that the conflict is getting worse. I know that innocent lives are being lost, young children are dying. Bombs are destroying cities and it seems that all hope is lost. 

I must admit that I do not know nearly enough about the conflict to speak on behalf of either side, in fact I don’t even know why or when the conflict began. But that is precisely why I wanted to write this post. As a young, American adult, I often feel really detached from what is going on in the rest of the world. Throughout my life, I have been pushed into the bubble of America that I honestly feel at times that there is only one country on Earth. And I believe that there are other many young teens and young adults that are in the same position. 

“Higher education is a strategic investment in our nation’s future. Education should be a right, not a privilege. We need a revolution in the way that the United States funds higher education.” - Sen. Bernie Sanders at a rally by college students outside the U.S. Capitol on March 27 

As a university student, I find the topic of college tuition a particularly pressing issue in this presidential race. Although there is a lot to be said about the conflicting views from both sides, as I mentioned in my last post, I am inclined to focus on the Democratic candidates. Sanders and Clinton have approached this subject differently. Clinton states that public colleges and universities will be debt-free if students are willing to work at least 10 hours a week. In contrast, Sanders supports tuition-free college for all students, regardless of their socioeconomic status. During the CNN debate, he stated that he will “pay for [this] program through a tax on Wall Street speculation, which will not only make colleges and universities tuition-free, it will substantially lower college debt.”

Admittedly, I am not qualified to analyze how effective their policies would be in practice. Therefore, I am more interested in considering why these are the views they’re promoting. Yet again it seems as though Sanders is motivated predominantly by a sense of morality for future generations, stating that “education should be a right, not a privilege.” He is undeniably correct that a high school education is simply not enough anymore to be qualified and hired for high-paying jobs. Furthermore, tuition prices for many universities and colleges are absurdly high. However, if the money goes toward improving education, I think perhaps those who can afford it should have to pay a “reasonable” tuition. Nevertheless, I support the moral standpoint from which Sanders approaches this topic and many others. 

Cultural Appropriation

The issue of cultural appropriation has prevalent in the modern pop society for a very long time. Going 10 years back to when Gwen Stefani debuted her first solo Album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby in 2004, she used 4 Japanese women as her backup dancers during her promotion performances. Referred to as the “Harajuku Girls,” the four women were dressed in school-girl uniforms and were named after her album title. Stefani was accused of treating the women as puppets and perpetuating racist stereotypes about Asian women and Asian culture.

On a more recent note, Miley Cyrus was also heavily criticized for her performance during the 2013 VMAs. Dubbed as the “a perfect illustration of just how the celebrity world appropriates black culture,” Cyrus twerked on stage and used black women and their physical body features as the literal background of her show.

Cultural Appropriation is an issue that is becoming more and more prevalent. When someone from a majority culture adopts a feature of a minority culture, they are praised for it and are complimented for it. However it is for the same feature that individuals from the minority culture are often stigmatized and discriminated against. Although the intentions might be harmless, the impact is anything but. 

A study done by the University of Michigan shows that “college kids today are about 40 percent lower in empathy than their counterparts of 20 or 30 years ago”. It has been heard and said many times over that the current generation of teenagers and young adults are much more self-absorbed and narcissistic. Reasons for this could stem from the fact that technology has been such a prevalent part of our development. The ‘selfie generation’ and plethora of social media platforms available have promoted a culture that places emphasis on the promotion of the self. 

Having a large number of ‘friends’ on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. allows people to tune out others, and pick and choose when they want to listen and pay attention to others. Rather than face-to-face interactions that dominated much of communication 20 to 30 years ago, the use of screens has now become the main source of information sharing. This fact is a bit frightening considering the implications that this ‘screen’ culture has on the development of empathy on teens, especially when emotional intelligence has yet to fully develop. 

We hear it all the time: if social media evolves solely to fuel self-image, self-interest, and self-promotion, it will continue to magnify the worst qualities in our generation (narcissism, laziness, and lack of empathy). In his essay “Small Change,” Malcolm Gladwell contemplates some negative impacts of social media: when it comes to activism, social networks are only “effective at increasing participation,” not passion or commitment. It’s true, some people’s idea of “activism” is pretty passive when all it requires is a simple click of like, retweet, or share. But doesn’t social media give power to the powerless and allow protests the coverage and attention they deserve?

Gladwell believes real life relationships promote “strong ties” while the internet only promotes “weak ties.” He states that social media merely claims to make the difference between “political authority and popular” less noticeable, but in actuality, we’ve never even met our “followers” in real life, and we have more friends on facebook than we would ever care to keep in touch with. Social media can often place more weight on the quantity rather than the quality of our relationships. 

So on the one hand, the internet has the dangerous potential to promote superficial activism and unrealistic expectations and ideals which can be potentially damaging to teens. On the other, we’re still holding out hope that our generation can use it as a tool for real activism, awareness, and empowerment. With great power comes great responsibility...?

It is no surprise that within the technology immersive society that we live in, the moral development of teenagers has taken many hits. Over half of adolescents and teens have been bullied online, with over 1 in 3 adolescents experiencing cyberthreats. There is a general fear, that I myself harbor, that children who grow up with screens that provide endless entertainment and information will lose that vital face to face experiences with peers their age. It is the tear forming and bruise inducing incidents at school that teaches adolescents that name-calling and violent actions do in fact have serious consequences on their victims. The emotional implications of bullying are shrouded behind a bright screen. 

Our morals are highly dependent on our social interactions, and that platform has shifted from mostly face-to-face interactions to the internet, where empathy can very easily be blanketed. The desire to garner likes on Instagram and followers on Twitter can also partly account for the growth in narcissism among young adults. These actions may seem innocuous, but the growing self involvement involved in the lives of teenagers may have lasting affects on their moral development, as indifference can grow. What distinguishes narcissists from non-narcissists? Empathy. The ability to identify with others and experience life from another’s point of view. 

This is not to say that technology and the internet hasn’t done a lot to connect many people and share information, but there is a subtle, underlying damage that is being done to the overall moral development of its users. 

I’m really glad I found this video - as someone who is biracial I learned a lot. Most of the mixed race people I’ve met have expressed disgust at comments like “what are you?” or something about how being mixed race is exotic and cool, and rightfully so. I’ve even lost friendships in high school because I didn’t feel the same way as my mixed race peers, and I’m finally starting to understand why. Growing up in Korea people would constantly define my worth based on my appearance of being mixed race, because whiteness is considered beautiful all around the world. When I came to America, people weren’t so open about commenting on my racial background, so when I did get that rare complement, comment, or question about my race I would feel flattered. I relied so heavily my whole life on this being the most important, distinctive, special part of who I am, that I didn’t want to let that go - that I even welcomed fetishization and objectification of “biracialness” (for lack of a better word). Without it, I was simply afraid I would have nothing left. 

It’s clear to me now that this is a sign that my self-esteem needs a lot of work - that I need to start defining myself through things I actually have control over. Thank you for reminding me that I am worth more than my mixed race.

Children around the world are continuing to fight these battles and become puppets for unnecessary wars.